Veena’s review of The Honey Thief by Najaf Mazari and Robert Hillman
Contemporary Fiction published by Viking Adult 18 Apr 13

Afghanistan is a landlocked country strategically located high in the Hindu Kush mountains of Asia. It’s in a part of the world that has been a virtual powder keg and most of us are familiar with some aspects of the people and culture thanks to the American news and media coverage. This book, however, gives us an up close and personal view of the indomitable spirit of the people who held their ground regardless of the Persians or Russians or British who wanted to conquer and rule that part of the world. In the voice of Abbas of the Hazara people, we are introduced to his family and friends, their way of life, the hardships they suffer, and the persecution they are subjected to. Reading this book is like sitting at my grandmother’s knee and hearing her reminisce about her childhood. I feel the same sense of awe and disbelief about some of the happenings in the book.

I have to admit, however, that while the book starts off really well and I enjoyed the beginning, I was wondering what I had let myself in for as I read the second chapter. I closed the book and put it aside for a few days. Then because I have a review to write, I picked it up again and began reading. I am so thankful to my commitment to writing the review I actually went back and finished the book. Some of the chapters have a sweetness and freshness to them which I believe comes from living a life very close to nature with very few luxuries, and yet there are certain chapters that speak about the atrocity or the sheer cruelty that made the hair on my arms stand up and make me glad that I was reading this in a book and not likely to live through some of these chapters.

While I have to honestly say the writing is spotty in places and some chapters are more interesting than others, we are able to get a good sense of Abbas as he grows from tending the goats to becoming a premier bee keeper and finally a village elder like his grandfather before him. We get a sense of the conflict and atrocities the Hazara were subjected to since they were treated almost like second-class citizens in their own country and yet they retained the sense of family and welcomed others to share what little they possessed in terms of food and shelter.

In spite of all the media coverage, one of the facts that is little known to me is that most of the Hazaras and other Afghans are educated and could read and write. At one time, depending on the ruling class, this education was also open to girls. Other than a brief mention of the thriving poppy trade in the preamble to the story, there is little mention of this in the rest of the book. There are so many cameos that I enjoyed.

The young boy who had a sort of Midas touch and no matter what he touched he uncovered gold, gems, oil and other wealth, he deems it actually his misfortune and is happiest when he’s able to discard this so-called good luck and live an ordinary life without it.

The young boy who receives the ill-fortuned books that finally won him an uncommonly beautiful bride that no one else could win. The profound impact of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on a chestnut seller outside the US embassy, such that he abandons his day’s profit in his sorrow. The snow leopard that is never found but ends up in a photograph unbeknownst to the photographer who took three trips to Afghanistan in search of it. The mute boy who learns to play a musical instrument despite his deformity. And then the serious sad story about Abbas’ trip with Konrad on the motorcycle, losing Konrad, rescuing a young Russian boy instead, all of which brings home the violence that surrounds everyday life in the country and how fleeting human life really is.

[Ed. Penguin has kindly offered a copy of The Honey Thief for a giveaway to one lucky commenter, so leave us a meaningful question or comment!]

Grade: C+

Summary:

This enchanting novel of interwoven legends burns with both gentle intelligence and human warmth

This extraordinary book, derived from the long oral tradition of storytelling in Afghanistan, presents a mesmerizing portrait of a people who triumph with intelligence and humor over the oppressions of political dictators and an unforgiving landscape.
A musician conjures stones to rise in the air and teaches his art to a mute child. Master Poisoner, Ghoroob of Mashad, has so perfected his craft that it is considered an honor to die from his meals. These are stories of magic and wonder in which ordinary people endure astonishing extremes in a world of bloodshed and brotherhood, miracles and catastrophes.

With lyrical wit and profound simplicity, The Honey Thief reveals an Afghanistan of greater richness and humanity than is conveyed in newspaper headlines; an Afghanistan not of failure and despair, but of resilience and fulfillment.

No excerpt available.